FERNDALE — Winning can be just as exhausting as losing.
That much the Arlington Eagles found out Sept. 17 on the gridiron in a 56-55 non-conference loss to the Ferndale Eagles that took overtime to decide.
“With a lot of two-way players, we aren’t in as good of shape as I thought,” said Arlington coach Greg Dailer. “At the end there, we were too tired to hold on to the lead and they came back on us.”
Arlington held a 42-19 lead in the middle of the third quarter, but an interception, onside kick recovery and fumble recovery helped Ferndale tie the score 49-49 with a minute to go. Arlington had a chance to win the game with a field goal, but the kick did not stay true, forcing overtime.
Dailer’s boys scored first in the extra period, but missed the extra point, giving Ferndale the opening it needed to win the game.
“We just need to execute when we are tired and that’s what we’re going to take away with us and learn from our mistakes,” Dailer said.
Arlington raced out to a lead in the first half off of five plays of 50 yards or more, and outscoring Ferndale 21-0 in the first quarter. Riley Cobb got Arlington off on the right foot with a pair of touchdown runs (three, nine yards). The junior halfback finished the game with 178 yards on 27 carries.
Also turning in a memorable performance was junior quarterback Blake McPherson, who completed nine of 15 passes for 335 yards and two touchdowns. McPherson wasn’t able to finish the game after tweaking a knee injury he suffered two weeks ago, and sophomore Skylor Elgarico stepped in to throw a six-yard touchdown to Griffin Ginnis — his second scoring catch of the game.
“At times we were efficient and moved the ball well, but we had four turnovers and we didn’t execute on defense,” said Dailer.
Arlington’s coach pointed out that Ferndale was a good challenge for his boys, who dropped to 2-1 on the season, as they will face a Marysville-Pilchuck team Sept. 24 that plays a similar style of football.
“They were a great preview for us because M-P and Snohomish play similar styles off offense where they try to run the ball at you all game,” he said. “And now they’ve seen it.”
